Door frame mounting and method of procedure



Dec. 23, 1958 A. w PATTIANI DooR FRAME: MOUNTING AND METHOD oF PROCEDURE File'd April 11, 1955 UML,

IN VEN TOR. AZO/.y WPAyvmA/f www irren/ve y s arent Patented Dec. 23, 1958 ffice DOOR FRAME MOUNTING AND METHOD or PROCEDURE Alois W. Pantani, oakland, Calif.

Application April 11, 1955, serial No. 500,555

4 Claims. (C I. 20--11) My present invention relates to building construction and more particularly to an improved method for setting mill finished door frames in a wall or interior partition of a building under construction.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a method by which a mill finished door frame maybe conveniently and accurately set in a rough timbered doorway in a building wall or partition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method by which a door frame may be accurately positioned and secured within a rough timbered doorway opening on a particular center line Virrespective of the actual location of the sides or jambs of the doorway opening and Whether or not the timbers outlining the sides of the doorway Opening are plumb.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method for setting mill finished door frames in the doorway opening of a wall which will insure a true and absolute centering and squaring of the door frame so that a door when hung therein will be free from binding at all points within the frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method by which improperly set or skewed cripples that define the sides of a doorway opening may be modified to provide a series of vertical aligned contact points for centering a door frame in the doorway opening with its side jambs in perfect parallelism and vertical with respect to a plumb line established therebetween said jambs extending at right angles through the doorway opening.

Other objects and advantages will be evidenced to those skilled in the art and in part pointed out hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention with the finished door frame in position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the arrangement with the nished door frame removed, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a further detail of the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1.

To illustrate an application of this invention I have, in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, shown a portion of a partially finished interior wall of a building with plaster applied and designated by the numeral 10, the plaster being broken away to reveal details of my proposed construction and method of procedure. As here shown, the Wall is provided with a doorway opening that is defined by spaced vertical disposed roughly framed studdings 11 that are carried by bottom or sole plates 12 which are fixed to a rough planking 13 upon which the finished flooring of the room is generally applied.

For reinforcing such a wall at the doorway opening,

' there are also provided additional shorter lengths of studding 14 that are firmly secured in the doorway to the studdings 11. These shorter lengths of studding 14, generally referred to as cripples, correspond in length to the height of the roughly framed doorway and serve as a support for a rough timber header 15 over the doorway opening. As these cripples 14 are secured firmly to the studding 11 at each side of the doorway opening, it will be seen that their spacing and vertical alignment will necessarily correspond with the spacing and alignment of the studdings 11 which, in being set up, may not be truly vertical or parallel with confronting faces extending at right angles through the doorway opening.

Mill finished door frames are generally furnished by the mill in a knocked down manner or completely assembled With the door, and the particular portions with which we are here concerned consist of two side jambs 16 and a head jamb 17. The head jamb 17 is shown in the drawing as dadoed into and fastened between the upper ends of the jambs 16 where it is secured, and when the finished door frame is finally nailed in the doorway opening, it thus determines the dimensions of the finished doorway.

In the past, under these conditions, and in order to set a finished door frame of this type between the cripples 14 with its side jambs 16 plumb and in properly spaced relation, the builder has resorted to the insertion of shims or blocks such as two or more oppositely arranged shingles or wedges, to fill in any excess space or clearance between the cripples 14 and the outer sides of the finished door frame before final nailing of the latter in place.

By my invention I avoid this cumbersome and haphazard or hit and miss method of procedure by cutting horizontally extending dados or grooves 18 at vertically spaced points along the confronting faces of the cripples 14 and mounting filler blocks 19 in these dados or grooves 18 in such a manner that they provide a series of accurately spaced and vertical and aligned faces or bearing points extending at right angles through the doorway opening with which, as shown in the drawing, the outer sides of a finished door frame 16 will engage when in final vertical position.

If the cripples 14 as finally set up, are found to be truly vertical or plumb and uniformly spaced throughout their length it is a simple matter to use blocks of a uniform thickness, without cutting the dados or grooves 18, along each of the cripples 14; but it more often happens that the cripples 14 are far from plumb and true when finally secured to the studdings 11 and the positioning thereof generally varies laterally and from top to bottom. It will be seen that even where the spacing of the cripples is uniform throughout their length, if they are notV at rightangles through the, doorway opening or lean inthe same direction, a non-unir form depth of the dados or grooves 18 in the confront-A ing faces of the cripples 14 will be necessary if the finishedjambs 16 of the doorV frame are to be plumb and properly spaced when finally set in the wall for the hanging of a door therein.

To provide for the above contingencies and to insure a perfect plumb and proper setting of the finished door frame with its side jambs 16 and its header 17 in the doorway opening between the opposed cripples 14, l establish a plumb line preferably centrally of the doorway opening, and from this plumb line the distance or depth A of each of the dados or grooves 18 in the respective confronting faces of the cripples is determined, and extended at right angles through said doorway, so that with filler blocks 19 of uniform thickness, seated in the grooves, there will be established a series of plumb and laterally aligned bearing surfaces against which the outertverticalwjambs L16 of `the finished, doortframeA may be firmly and finally secured as by nailing.

In other words, regardless of the deformities in the cripplesJ and their rough) positioning, by myymethod the :bottoms ofthe:fdados,'origrooves will VallubexI-aligned'on a-'.vertical plane extending atright angles to. thef=door way,-and thatftherefore'the 1fil1er=blocks seated-against :thesealigned-bottoms :and extending out ofzthetgrooves to` receive'the finished \door frame (16 -in Fign'l) ,must:be` all :of -an -equal thickness C, at least as to each cripple, andumayvbe,as-Ytoboth cripples. vThis `does away .-witht-theheretofore general useofi-tapered shingles. orshims, and @constant'flevel rreading, and the projecting :blocks provides t anperfectly-Iifit-ting I.perfectly squared set of bearing surfaces to receive and align armillfinished dooriframe with oraw'ithout -a ldoor :also mounted -in -theframe to its finalY position.

In Figure 3=off-the drawing, I. have showntheidados 18 as a Vgreater vertical widththanthe'fillerl blocks-'19, but this can be a tight fit'if desired-.orA-the blocks maybe glued or'held in placeby a light 'finishing nail 21, and while I have shown 4only threesuchdados in each 'ofthe cripples-14 itis tobe understood that agreaterr or lesser number may be employed ifrdesired.

To facilitate a cutting of the dados or-groovesi18`in the cripples V-14 I.=haveV foundlthatl-this Gambe-accomplished in asimple and convenient manner-byfsubstituting a vertically disposed tool supporting Vcolumn=for the plumb line 120 Yandmounting a-vertically1and laterallytadjustable dadosaw ior other groove forming or Wood cutting tool thereupon. This -particular'fvdeviee is to=be the subject /of-,a contemplatedcopending Aapplicationin-which itwillvbe more fully described and claimed.

If for some reason it should be inconvenient ytof-locate the-plumb line `20 atf the exactcenter of lthe doorway openingk between the cripples 14, =the matter -ofl-determining the depth of the Adados 18 atveither sidelthereof Willonly require a change, more or less, in the-dimension B comparable to vthe'off-center displacement of the-plumb 1ine20.

While I have, fort'thesakefofclearness Aand lin order to disclose the invention so that -the same can fbereadily understood, described vand illustrated a specific form and arrangement,l as applied to the-setting of -a door frame in a doorway opening, I desire to have it understood that the invention is v-not limited to.-the specific form disclosed, but maybe employed in the 1mounting of window frames andthe like and for other purposes that vwill suggest, themselves to persons skilledinr-the art. vIt isbelieved thatthis yinvention is new and 'therefore all such changes as come vWithin thefscopeof the appended claims are tobe considered as part'of' this invention.

-Having thusdescribed -my=nvention, what Il claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of setting a finished door framein a buildingwallhaving a roughly framed timberedl doorway openingflargerthan the finished door frame, which comprises establishingv afplumbline between the confronting faces of the doorway framing, forming` a plurality. of grooves in said framing and spaced along ,said

confronting faces, and extending at right angles through said doorway, all to the same depth as measured from said plumb line respectively as to said faces, positioning filler blocks of uniform thickness in said grooves to project therefrom for locating the finished door frame thereagainst to its final vertical position, and placing and securing the vfinished door frame in place against said blocks.

2. The method of setting a finished door frame in a building wall-having a-roughly framedtimbered doorway opening larger. than the nished door frame, which comprises establishing a plumb line between the confronting faces ofthe -doorway framing, forming a plurality of grooves in said framing and spaced along said confronting faces, and extending at right angles through said doorway, all to the same depth as measured from said f plumb line 4respectivelyas to lsaid faces; position- -ing strips of uniform thickness `in saidk lgrooves to project therefrom, locatingtthe finished doorfframe against said strips to its final vertical position'and'securing 'the finished doorframein'place by-nails passing Vthrough said'v finished Vdoor 'frame and `said -stripsinto'the -confrontingV facesof said framing.

3. The combination ,comprising, a roughly framed ltimbered doorway-"opening and a finished door-frame, grooves lformed -in vand spaced along the confronting faces of the .upright framing of the doorway opening vof various `depths into the framing `as-'required to^'bring the bottoms of the grooves of each face into alignment on ay vertical plane extending at right-angles to the doorway, spacing blocks seated and secured in'said grooves, all of the blocks of each face respectively lbeingvofuniformvthickness greater than the depth of the grooves so `asl to project therefrom, and a finished door frame vertically aligned within and by contact 'wtht'the' projectingportions of thefblocksand finally secured vin such position.

4, The. combination comprising, a roughly 'framed timbered `doorway opening and a finished doorfframe, seats formed in and spaced along'the confronting faces of `the upright framing lof the vdoorway lopeningv of various ldepths into the framing as required to'bring-'the bottoms ofthe seats of each -face -into alignment ona vertical lplane -extending at right angles to the doorway, spacing blocks seated and secured in said seats-,-all of the blocksof each face respectively being of uniform thickness' greater than the depth of theseatsso as'to project therefrom, and a finished door frame Avertically aligned within and by contact with the projecting portions of Athe blocks -and finally secured in suchfposition.

vReferences Cited in thele of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,863,730 Ross Iune 21, 1932 k2,523,063 Roos Sept. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 128,696 Australia Aug.' 10, 1948 

